Noted professionals to speak at engineers’ forum

QGET, a forum of Indian engineering professionals, is holding Qatar Engineers Summit 2012 (Qest 2012) at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts on June 24. QGET consists of Qatar-based engineers passed out from Government Engineering College in Kerala’s Thrissur, a well-known educational institution in the southern Indian state. The main attraction at the Qest 2012, according to the organisers, is a session on “Engineering and Management Challenges on sustainable development” to be addressed by 1991 Indian civil services topper Raju Narayanaswami, who is also a topper at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai, is currently the secretary to the department of youth affairs in the Government of Kerala. Also speaking at the meeting is Sustainability Manager and Doha-based green engineering professional Gregory Acker. Indian Ambassador Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa will inaugurate the meeting. Narayanaswami who was involved in various capacities in the Indian government, had served as director of Agency for Non Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), Kerala, besides having a stint as collector in five Kerala districts. A recipient of several awards for his literary contributions, the IAS officer has written as many as 24 books. Also a winner of International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) scholarship, the bureaucrat has participated and chaired several international and national conferences. More than 60 of his papers have been published in different professional journals. Acker is the sustainability manager in Turner International (Middle East Qatar), involved in the development of Msheireb Properties’ Dohaland project. This urban regeneration project, spreads over 33 hectares, intends to demonstrate the bioclimatic design, heritage and culture in Qatar. Acker is a Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) certified green professional and accredited professional with the US Green Building Council. Holding enormous experience in sustainable development projects, he has several honours to his credit and his papers have been published in several newspapers and journals. He is also a member of the US-China Centre for Sustainable Development and US Green Building Council. QGET has more than 300 professionals working in the country’s governmental bodies, consultancy organisations, and oil and gas industries among others. Organisers said yesterday that they expected around 150 technocrats, engineering and management professionals, key resource personnel from oil and gas industries and allied service industries. They are also expecting guests from the country’s diplomatic missions, Qatar Society of Engineers and senior executives from the multinational companies. The function is also scheduled for 6.30pm.